Is atheism in decline or on the rise?
The figures are ambiguous. Globally, more people may claim to be atheists today than ever before, but proportionately they are fewer because more religious societies are growing more quickly.
The countries with the highest proportion of atheists are Sweden, Vietnam, Denmark, Norway and Japan (in that order). This list itself undermines simple explanations. The second highest is Vietnam, not a Western developed state like the United States or Ireland (both with low levels of atheism). The fifth highest, Japan, has the oldest population of any nation while atheism barely registers in any of the countries with the youngest populations (all of which are in Africa).
